This chapter tried to murder me…I swear it did! I was stuck on the last bit for days!

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Six-Into the Wild…To Find a Secret Passageway

Jane moved down the staircase, hands lightly gripping onto the railing. Behind him, there was an annoying squeaking sound coming from the old stairs. He looked over his shoulder, eyes catching sight of the petite brunette's body outline in the darkness. He saw her jump, looking down to be sure she didn't awaken some type of monstrous pet they had…which they didn't. He had wanted one once, but Mira wouldn't let him.

"It's okay, Lisbon," he saw her head turn in his direction, "Just an old staircase, that's all," he saw her nod, almost like she was telling herself that she was being ridiculous. Which in his book she was not, she just learned that she's a witch. To him, that could definitely shake a person up for a little while.

He heard her breathe in and out deeply, almost trying to continue to reassure herself. He was almost certain she still believed that she was stuck in dream world, which she most definitely was not. If it was…then he would have the most active imagination of all time. But yes, he knew he was entirely sane in every way, shape, and form, regardless of what other people may or may not believe. No doubt, she was questioning it. Hell he would too if he was in her current position.

As his feet hit the bottom of the stairs, he heard a low murmuring of two voices coming from the kitchen around the corner. From all the years he has lived, he learned how to pay attention, this skill became quite useful. Today most people called it 'psychic powers' while the somewhat 'newer' term was indeed 'mentalist'. He preferred being called that, it sounded much nicer, automatically making it more preferred.

"When do you think we'll leave?" he heard Will's soft voice drifting around the room, "Couple hours…a day or two at the least?"

"I'm not yet sure, Will," Jane smiled softly, knowing indeed the affections the two shared for each other, "But all I know is that the council is not happy with me, I was supposed to make sure Teresa did not expose her abilities that way."

Wait.

She knew.

Jane looked over his shoulder again, ignoring Will and Mira for a split second. Lisbon was just coming to stand next to him, hands fidgeting with the end of her blouse. She continued to chew on her lip unconsciously, nervously. Again, a wave of slight pity moved through him. But he did have to give her appraisal for taking this quite well, in his honest opinion.

But he also needed a reason to be in the kitchen, to intrude on Will and Mira's conversation…he was sure Lisbon would be thirsty by now…that seemed like an adequate reason to enter a kitchen in the night.

"Lisbon, by any chance are you thirsty?" she pushed her eyebrow up, giving him a slightly odd look. Her lips parted, her eyes barely moved, "I mean it's probably been a while since you last had something to drink and I don't want you to get dehydrated…" both of her eyebrows moved up before she nodded.

"Sure," Jane smiled at her, gesturing for her to move in front of him. She took one step forward, looking over her shoulder at him. He moved, pressing one hand into her lower back to guide her towards the correct room they desired…well more like what he desired…

But also what he noticed was when he asked Lisbon that question, the talking in the kitchen grew quiet. Mira had heard them and he knows both of the inhabitants well enough that they are very secretive when it comes to their friendship…especially when it came to the topic surrounding the council. This gives their friendship a few humourous tones to it, but also some seriousness, in some weird way.

They rounded the corner, Lisbon's body slightly pausing at their entrance. He looked over at her, watching her eyes scan and analyze every little detail about the room. This was probably because she wanted to keep her mind away from the fact that Will was his son, dressed like he was from the late seventeenth century, and currently not touchable.

"Mira," he began, watching her cerulean irises flicker in his direction, "Could you grab me a glass for Lisbon? She hasn't had anything to drink in a little while," she bowed softly, turning on her heel and hopping upwards to sit on the smooth counter. She barely turned and reached up to open the cupboard, reaching inside and pulling out a clean glass and setting it down on the counter beside her thighs. She braced both hands on either side of her and pushed herself down, landing expertly on her feet. Mira turned, grasped the glass and extended her hand towards Jane. He gladly took the glass from her hands and moved towards the refrigerator, ready to pull out the pitcher.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cupboard door slip shut very smoothly in a very haunting manner. He turned his head towards Lisbon, still clutching onto the glass and pitcher as he tipped it and began to pour. Lisbon's face had blanched, her eyes sticking onto the once-open cupboard door.

"You get used to it," Mira he looked over towards the Halfling at the sound of her voice, "It's rather entertaining at times, too," she smiled and moved past Lisbon swiftly, barely brushing against the petite woman's body with her own.

Jane turned and set the glass down on the island, the pitcher next to it. His eyes flashed up to look at Will, who stood on the opposite side with his hands behind his back.

"Go finish talking with Mira, we need a more efficient plan on what we're doing and I'm assuming the two of you can easily come up with one," his son nodded, breezing out of the room in the same exact path that Mira had recently left.

He watched his son leave, a slight pang of guilt hitting his conscience. It was entirely his fault that he couldn't feel warmth or anything for that matter. He had been so selfish and his son paid a tremendous price for it.

"Jane?" his eyes glanced towards Lisbon, who was now holding onto the glass shakily with both hands, "What are they doing?"

He shook his head, "I need to tell you something Lisbon, and you have to believe me," she nodded, leaning forward and pressing her elbows into the counter, "There's a place called the Celestial Realm and we need to go there," she blinked, her head cocking to the side, "I know you think this is all ridiculous, but it's all true."

One hand left the glass, waving solely in the air, "Okay, where's the 'Celestial Realm'," she indicated with two of her fingers, a small smile gracing her features, "Do we take some type of train to get to it or go through a wardrobe…"

Jane shook his head, bracing both hands on the island, "Like the wardrobe, there is a passage. In the Eldorado National Forest not far from here, there's a passage," Lisbon's eyes grew wide, "We must go there soon to get there."

She put her glass down, running one hand through her hair and holding one hand up towards Jane, "We?" she pushed herself back, hand gesturing to herself, "Jane, you don't really expect me to go with you, do you?" he just blinked at her, of course he didn't want to sugarcoat anything…but he wanted to overwhelm her more than she already was.

He nodded, "Yes Lisbon," she stepped back even farther, shaking her head in the process, "There's a council, they are probably wanting to talk to you…"

"I'm not going anywhere," she balled her hands into fists and turned on her heel, more than prepared to run from the room, "I'm sorry Jane, but this just sounds so…"

Furiously he shook his head at her, propelling himself forward towards her. He stopped not far from her face, taking her soft hands in his and holding them close to his body. His thumbs slipped over her smooth skin, his eyes closing softly before reopening. Lisbon pulled back against him, furrowing her eyebrow. Anger flicked across her features.

"Jane," she warned, "Let go of me," she pulled against him once more, cocking her head to the side, "I'm not joking."

"I'm not laughing."

"Jane."

"Teresa."

The use of her last name surprised her. She momentarily stopped moving away from him, pausing her movements. Her eyes blinked slowly, her mouth parting as her head once more moved to the side. He tugged on her, alerting her to what she was really trying to do: get away from all this.

She shook her head, her hair falling into her face, "I'm sorry, I can't stay," she ripped one hand from his grasp, turning sharply in attempt to pull the other free. His hand wrapped tighter around her and he pulled her to him again, harder this time. Lisbon lost her balance, falling into him. Out of instinct, he wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her to him as he himself began to fall backwards. When he hit the ground, his head slapped back against the tile floor, a loud, painful noise erupting from behind him.

Jane squeezed his eyes shut, letting go of Lisbon with one hand and bringing it up to rub his eyes. Lisbon pushed herself upwards, placing one hand on the floor to support herself. She gazed down at Jane, eyes filled with worry.

"Are you all right?" her voice was more high-pitched as a hint of guilt moved into her features.

He nodded, rubbing the back of his head as he moved into a sitting position, "Ow," he winced, immediately feeling the source of his pain. He hissed as his fingers moved over a particularly tender spot, his mouth drawing into a thin line as his eyes once more, squeezed shut, "Lisbon…" his voice had a slightly whining tone to it, "Why did you do that?"

"I didn't do anything!" she snapped quickly, "It was all your fault that you wouldn't let me go!"

"Aha!" still holding the back of his head, he managed to point to her with his free hand, "So you admit it!"

"Admit what?"

"If you hadn't been struggling I wouldn't be in pain!" his hand was still raised in the air, but no longer pointing in her direction, "Seriously woman, you could really kill someone," he rubbed his head once more, eyes moving into hers.

She was about to speak when the sound of footsteps interrupted her. First she saw bare feet appearing before her, gracefully dancing across the floor as they came nearer. She looked up, following them until her eyes landed on the owner's face: Mira. Of course.

Mira held onto a toothbrush, her hair pulled back tightly as she looked down at the two people on the floor, "Well, we're leaving for Eldorado in about thirty minutes, I hope you get up soon Patrick," she then turned and headed back, not once looking over her shoulder.

Jane quickly pulled himself into a standing position, one hand resting on the island's counter and the other at his side, no longer behind his head, "So we're going now?" he called after the Halfling.

The Halfling only nodded, not turning around as she turned around the corner, heading back towards the staircase. A small smile crept across Jane's features as he turned and glanced back at Lisbon, who was pulling herself up.

"If I were you, I would go to the bathroom before we hit the road."

One thing that truly scared Jane was silence. It made him feel as if everyone was staring at him, watching him like they waiting for him to slip up or make some kind of mistake. Almost like they were plotting something. That was what was killing him now, the silence filling the air of Mira's Jeep as she drove down a trail. The delicate hum of the engine and the sound of the tires moving across the smooth pavement.

Eldorado National Forest was about an hour east of Sacramento, maybe even less thanks to the Halfling's driving. Every time he would go here, he would dread visiting the Celestial Realm. Every visit brought back fouler memories than the trip before, this was partially due to the problem that the council hated his very being. Of course he had tried to redeem himself on several occasions, all of which have blown out of preportion, especially after the death of his family. The council had wanted him imprisoned, but they knew they could not actually do so. Instead Mira had been brutally beaten for it all. After that it had taken her three months to fully recover back to her original strength.

She rarely ever spoke of it, knowing it brought back tender memories for him as well.

So, he just hoped he would be able to look around at the scenery around him and just lose himself like any ordinary person would. Oh how he would kill for a somewhat more normal lifestyle where the Celestial Realm meant nothing to him. Where someone can mention it to him and all he will do is cock his head and raise an eyebrow in curiosity. That was definitely not an option right now.

The car jerked to the right, leaving the pavement and onto a gravel road. The small stones began were crushed under the weight of the tires, the sounds marking their protests. Lisbon moved from her window, moving closer to Jane out of surprise. Her breathing became heavier as her chest moved up and down once more, indicating that she was still not accustomed to what was to come.

"Sorry," his gaze flickered to Mira's form as she moved one hand from the armrest and back to the steering wheel to gain better control of the Jeep, "The roads are a bit bumpy," out of the corner of his eye, he watched Lisbon nod her head, her gaze remaining wide and alert.

"You okay?" he watched her gaze move towards him, her eyes sill no doubt questioning her sanity, "It's gonna be all right," she nodded, turning her body to look out the window once more, eyes gazing up at the stars peppering the night sky.

"Where is this 'passage?'" her voice sounded small, frightened, hesitant, "Why is this all so important?"

Jane opened his mouth, more than prepared to say what was needed, but Mira beat him to it, "The passage is within the trees by the lake," her grip tightened on the wheel, "And there's a war going on, ever since the sixteenth century a war between good and evil has been occurring. Many die each day, mostly on our side. We need someone powerful enough to end it all, you," there was a slight pause, "Plus the council needs to meet you, now that you know that you are a witch."

Lisbon looked back over at Jane, who nodded at her, "It's true," he voice was soft and smooth, very much reassuring, "And you can make Mira and I mortal again."

"Oh, and make me…tangible," both inhabitants of the back seat looked up, gazing at the man sitting in the front passenger seat, "Oh come on, I at least get some part of this deal, don't I?" Jane chuckled, knowing that Will was joking. Lisbon looked over at him, then back at his son, both men were wearing the identically smile.

It was creepy.

Moments later, the Jeep jolted to a stop, both Jane and Lisbon lurching forward, their seatbelts aggressively pulling them back. Lisbon reached up, almost clawing at the belt to get it away from her neck, now red and irritated. A click and a door opened as the Halfling stepped out of the vehicle. She slammed the door shut, already walking a fast pace ahead of Jane and Lisbon. Will was by her side, having only moved through the door of the Jeep.

Jane reached down, unfastening his seat belt before hands grasping the handle and pushing the door open. He stepped down from the Jeep, turning to look back into the interior of the car, "Come on Lisbon," he gestured for her to come with him, "It'll be easier this way."

She nodded, hands solemnly reaching down and freeing herself of her restraint. She brushed her neck again, feeling the irritated skin and she winced. Jane felt a pang of guilt hit him as he noticed what had happened to her, he felt that it was slightly his fault, but then again it was the Halfling's reckless driving.

Without much more words, Lisbon climbed across and moved out through his door, he stepped back giving her more room. Her hand wrapped around the door, shutting it as she spun around and her gaze caught onto Jane's once more.

"Are we going to do this?" she asked him firmly, still unsure of what they were going to do.

He nodded, "Yes, follow me," his fingers touched her elbow, pushing her in the direction that Mira had previously gone. Lisbon had to squint at the trees before her, hoping not to lose sight of what was in front of her. Straightening up her posture and clutching onto her jacket, she set off, Jane following behind her only to be sure she would not run away from him, or from what was to come.

Jane knew Lisbon was still questioning everything, he could tell by the way her head would move as she would take in the hauntingly tall trees looming over them. He knew Lisbon was a brave woman filled with courage, but she was not used to being in a national park during the mere hours of the morning. However, he could say he has been in this park before during the early morning. That was the last time he went to the Celestial Realm. Almost an entirely different reason.

When he noticed Lisbon was about to go the wrong way, he clenched his hands into fists, jogging forward to catch up with her. Her head whipped around, eyes trying to focus on his moving figure as he neared her. He stopped, touching her arm and pointing in a different direction off the trail. She quirked her eyebrow, trying to tug her arm from his grasp.

"I think we should stay on the path," she gestured before her at the long, narrow pathway probably making only a loop around the park, "It'll be easier."

"Actually, we go off the trail right here," he pointed in the direction of where he had wanted to go earlier. If he remembered correctly, once they were off the trail and hiking for about twenty minutes, then they will hit their destination. The passageway leading them to the Celestial Realm.

If Cho or Rigsby were here and knew about this whole ordeal, he might place a bet on whether or not Mira had actually reached the passageway. Of course she was going to wait for them, Lisbon was inexperienced with opening the passageway and he…lacked the skills. If he were to try to do it, nothing would happen. It's because realistically he is not a 'magical being'. He's just an immortal human that knows a lot.

He could tell by the look in her eyes that she did not want to move off the trail, her eyes searching his for any joke he was trying to play on her. He would not try to joke around with her about this, in a way this had a lot to do with Red John, he was one of the major reasons why they had to essentially leave Earth.

"We have to, Lisbon, it's the only way to get there," he tugged on her again, she obeyed this time, giving him only a little resistance.

Jane looked over his shoulder, seeing her still looking around before he pushed her forward, indicating with a slight nod of his head for her to move forward through the trees. She looked back beginning to move forward once more through the trees.

He had to say he was a bit proud of her for this.

He was wrong.

This was not taking only a mere twenty minutes as he had originally thought. They had not gotten lost, but Lisbon was being hesitant with her movements. She spent the majority of the time walking around to be sure that she would not step on anything or no one or nothing would come out of nowhere and 'grab her' as she had said ten minutes ago. He had chuckled at that statement, earning a glare from her. It was nice that there was still some of the normality left in their relationship.

By the time they had reached their destination, Mira had definitely arrived. She stood in front of the shimmery lake, pacing back and forth and speaking quietly with Will. Jane knowing their words were probably private, so he made some noise to alert them. Since the day those two met each other, there was always something between them. It added to his guilt.

"Where have you been?" she crossed her arms over her chest as she shifted her footing, "It has been about an hour and yet we are still here."

Jane shrugged, "Got lost I guess, not much I could do," she rolled her eyes before flickering her gaze to Lisbon, who was now standing behind him and looking at the lake before her.

"The lake is the passageway," Lisbon's eyes moved upwards, catching with the Halfling's, "We use the lake to enter the Celestial Realm, it can be tricky, but I know how to do it," Lisbon nodded.

"Are we going to do this or not," the petite brunette stated rather fatigued, "I just want to sleep."

Mira nodded, turning to Jane, "Ready?" he nodded as she turned back towards the lake.

She slowly walked forward, the lack of moonlight making it hard to see her body. She stopped before hitting the water, she backed up slightly, leaned down and rested her hand just about the water. One finger dipped into the water, sending ripples, growing larger and larger. Her finger remained there, softly lighting up the water. The light had originally started out soft, slowly growing larger as it glowed brighter. Soon it began to overtake the entire lake, highlighting everything, making the ripples more noticeable than ever.

Mira turned back towards the three people behind her, the white light now glowing from the lake highlighting everything around them. She smiled softly, turning back and raising her hands. The water began to part, pushing itself back as the sandy floor was seen below it. She put her hands down, the water remaining in its place.

A soft white circle in the middle of the floor lit up, the light emitting from the ground becoming blindingly radiant. Wind picked up, constantly brushing against the trees, never stopping. The Halfling began to step forward, towards the circle. Will followed her, only a few steps behind. Jane looked back at Lisbon, his eyes softened as he reached his hand out to her, gesturing with his head for her to move forward with him. Her eyes widened, he watched her back up, wanting to leave immediately.

"I can't," she turned back about ready to run back towards the Jeep to head back to civilization…to try to wake up from this bizarre dream, "I'm sorry Jane."

He shook his head, running forward and wrapping a hand around her wrist. Her brow furrowed as she attempted to pull it back against her body. He tugged on her again, pulling her body closer to him. Jane wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back towards where the water would have initially been.

Lisbon began to struggle, to jerk wildly in his arms, "Jane, let go of me!" her voice became higher, "Jane!"

"I'm sorry Lisbon, I can't."

Lisbon was about to hit him in the nose to make him let go of her. She had begun to move her arm back, preparing for the hit. Jane shut his eyes, knowing well of what was to happen, but nothing did. He opened his eyes, her arm by her side, her eyes wide with fear. She was speechless, she wouldn't say anything, this worried him. He straightened her in his arms, about ready to study her when he felt a force push them both forward at an exhilarating speed.

When they hit the circle, the wind picked up at a great speed. The light began to surround them, engulfing them. All of a sudden it was like there was nothing below there feet. Jane felt Lisbon tighten her grip around him, he couldn't see her, his eyes were closed, but he heard her scream, right in his ear as everything started to spin. He squeezed his eyes shut, almost wanting this to end as much as she did.

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